Clelia Mountford, BAFTA Award winning producer and co-founder of the global television, film and commercial production company, Merman, was guest speaker at our 2023 Bowman Lecture.
Sixth Form students, staff and several Old Eleans packed inside the Hayward Theatre on Friday, October 13th to hear Clelia’s presentation, entitled ‘The Business of Storytelling’, which gave us a fascinating glimpse into her career in the TV and film industry.
Merman has won numerous BAFTA Awards and several Emmy and Royal Television Society Award nominations, as well as Production Company of the Year at the Edinburgh TV Awards 2022, and a further nomination this year. Clelia has executively produced shows including ‘Catastrophe’, ‘Frayed’, ‘Motherland’, ‘Bad Sisters’, and ‘This Way Up’.
Jonathan Shaw, who is Head of King’s Ely Senior, said: “Learning how to break into an industry without any personal contacts was a message relevant to all of our students, whatever their interests or passions. The flurry of questions at the end was a sure indicator of how well Clelia’s talk was received.”
The Bowman Lecture is held annually at King’s in honour of Old Elean and former Ely Cathedral Chorister, James Bowman CBE. The lecture promotes the creative and liberal arts at King’s, and is supported by the Old Eleans’ Club.
Bowman, a world-renowned countertenor whose career spanned opera, oratorio, contemporary music and solo recitals, died in March this year, aged 81. He always spoke fondly of his time at King’s: “I cannot quite emphasise enough the profound effect this school had on me. The school taught me the real meaning of musical discipline, for which I am eternally grateful.”
Thank you so much for your time, Clelia – your talk was so captivating and inspiring.